


to the sticking place

by aletterinthenameofsanity, ShanleenKinnJaskey



Series: some stupid noble reason [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy is the Master of the Elder Wand, F/F, Female Homosexuality, Fluff, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Hogwarts Inter-House Friendships, Hogwarts Inter-House Unity, Kitchen Gang, M/M, Marriage Proposal, POV Lesbian Character, Rare Pairings, Secret Relationship, Slytherin Pride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-01-22 02:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12471528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShanleenKinnJaskey/pseuds/ShanleenKinnJaskey
Summary: In which everything changes, and yet nothing does.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FiresFromOurHearts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiresFromOurHearts/gifts).
  * Inspired by [spirit, that made those heroes dare: in defense of the gryffindor boys](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5425607) by [ShanleenKinnJaskey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShanleenKinnJaskey/pseuds/ShanleenKinnJaskey). 



> Title from Macbeth.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, this takes place within ShanleenKinnJaskey's Harry Potter AU series, except while that one kept as close to canon as possible, this one applies the principle of "could be gayer" to that series. Basically, Astoria, Terry, Dean, and Hannah are all best friends and hang out in the kitchen. Luna, Neville, and Millicent are best friends and hang out in the back of the library. In that version, all couples were canon (except for Dean/Seamus, but the theory behind the fic was "behind the scenes" so as long as Harry could have been oblivious to something, it was allowed to happen). In this one, Astoria Greengrass and Harry Potter switch significant others.  
> This leads to some changes.

_Macbeth:_

_If we should fail?_

 

_Lady Macbeth:_

_We fail?_

_But screw your courage to the sticking place,_

_And we'll not fail._

 

 _\- Macbeth, Act I, Scene 7_  

 

When Astoria Greengrass first enters Hogwarts, her favorite bedtime story is Macbeth. The epitome of the perfect pureblood wife is Lady Macbeth, a Slytherin through and through. Her philosophy, kind of “the ends justify the means," suits well to the vauntless ambition of the perfect pureblood.

-

Two things happen that year: she becomes friends with Dean, Terry, and Hannah, and she meets Ginny Weasley.

Becoming friends with Terry Boot isn't _too_ strange. A half-blood with a thirst for knowledge, the quiet Ravenclaw is the perfect friend for a tiny Slytherin girl thirsty for knowledge.

Hannah Abbott is a pureblood, even if her family is full of blood-traitors and she is a Hufflepuff. The Noble House of Bones is an ancient and respected House and would make a beautiful ally, even if Hannah hadn’t been one of the best friends Astoria could possibly have.

Dean Thomas, on the other hand, is a _Muggleborn,_ a _Gryffindor._ To be friends with him would be a smudge on her perfect Slytherin reputation, but Astoria doesn’t care. To the tiny girl who enters Hogwarts on the eve of Sirius Black’s return, blond braids swinging, Dean Thomas is kind and treats her like an equal. He laughs with her, and hugs her, and seems to genuinely enjoy her presence.

Astoria likes them all, and soon enough they’re inseparable.

 

Ginny Weasley is far more of a Slytherin than anyone gives her credit for.

Astoria realizes this, watching her during her first and second years. The girl can keep secrets like no one else save a Slytherin can, can manipulate and maneuver people around like only Draco and maybe Pansy- no, strike that, Pansy is too obvious about it- can.

It’s kind of fascinating, to be honest, that a Weasley could end up being so un-Gryffindor like.

-

Astoria has always known, since she was able to figure out such things, that she likes girls.

 

Seamus and Dean are kind of like role models (in that they've got their shit together). Dancing with them and the rest of her friends at the Yule Ball is lots of fun for a twelve year old whose friends are all at least two years older than she is.

  


Draco Malfoy plops himself down onto the common room couch two months into her third year. “Fucking Gryffindors,” he mutters, and she notices the shining badge of the Inquisitorial Squad on his robes.

She understands it, despite herself. She knows that Millicent, with her blood traitor best mates, wears the badge to protect them. If Astoria was old enough, she would too.

(She thinks that Draco’s crush on Harry Potter is painfully obvious.)

  


Astoria and Draco sit in the library, Draco unable to do anything but wait for Harry and his friends to get back from wherever they disappeared to.

 

“I’m not worried,” Draco says to the ground, but his creased features and haggard appearance (okay, not really ‘haggard,’ so much as slightly wrinkled, but this is _Draco Malfoy,_ always perfect, so for him this is practically slovenly) tell a different story. She snorts, and he looks up at her. “Why are you laughing?”

“Because that’s got to be the biggest load of B.S. since Dean said he didn’t _really_ like Seamus ‘like that.’” Her foot _is_ tapping at the floor beneath their table, though. Potter is gone, with no message save a tiny, apple sized owl appearing at Draco’s dorm door with a letter attached to its wing. She _does_ worry about the Boy Who Lived, not just for Draco’s sanity but also for the safety of her friends. If something happens to the Boy Who Lived, then Dean will be in trouble.

She sighs. “I know you and Potter have some kind of thing going.”

His eyes widen. “Really?”

“Of course. You’re about as subtle as the Weasley twins putting their names into the Goblet of Fire.”

His nose crinkles. “I never want to be doing something similarly to a _Weasley._ ”

“Your boyfriend’s pretty much an honorary Weasley.”

“Don’t remind me.” Then he sighs. “I take that back. I promised Harry I’d be nicer, that I’d be _better_.”

“Harder than you thought it would be?”

He nods. “Excruciating.”

-

Ginny Weasley gets gorgeous, and Potter has to be incredibly fucking gay (And hopelessly in love with Draco Malfoy) not to ask her out.

So Astoria borrows a page from the Gryffindor playbook and decides to take a leap.

 

Astoria knows the value of secrecy, of not announcing to the world less than savoury details. She may have danced with all of her friends at the Yule Ball, but she made sure that Terry, a respectable choice by House standards, was her official date. She hangs out with her friends in the kitchen rather than any common room not _just_ because it’s comfortable, but also because no one can judge and bully them for it. She’s just as protective of Dean and Terry and Hannah and even Seamus as she is of herself.

She sneaks up to Ginny Weasley on her way out of her OWLS potions class. The redhead’s too busy complaining to Lovegood about whatever Slughorn just assigned to notice Astoria until the Slytherin is three feet away.

“Weasley,” Astoria says, screwing up her courage. “I'd, um, like to, uh, go out on a date with you?”

Luna Lovegood grins, but Ginny just raises an eyebrow. “Sounds like fun. Meet you in the Hogshead next Hogsmeade?”

“Sound good to me.”

 

Ginny is fierce, a lightning rod for excitement and passion. She spends much of their date talking about one thing or another, debating and discussing and going on tangents even while sipping on a butterbeer.

There are moments, though, in which she goes quiet, listening intently to what Astoria is saying. Ginny’s lips turn upward into a slight smile. She treats Astoria as an equal, just as the kitchen gang does.

(Astoria couldn’t be happier.)

They part with a kiss in the alley next to the Hogshead and a promise to meet up after classes Tuesday night.

 

In only takes a couple months of dating for Ginny to join the Saturday kitchen meetings. She slides into their group with little to no splash. The literal only issue is the first Saturday, when Ginny sees Seamus as she enters the kitchen. She raises an eyebrow.

“You don’t believe Harry,” she says.

“I’m not sure if I do or not,” Seamus says.

Ginny stares him down, and for one tense moment Astoria wonders if she’ll have to separate her girlfriend and best mate’s boyfriend. She knows that she won’t side with her girlfriend over her best friend, not this early on, but she can’t be sure about who she’d side with between Seamus and Ginny. She hopes it would be Ginny, her girlfriend, but Seamus is dear to her too.

Then Ginny shrugs. “At least you’re being honest, Finnegan.”

Seamus smiles. “Nice to meet you outside of just being Ron’s sister, Weasley.”

-

She and the rest of the gang- Dean, Terry, Seamus, and somehow Ginny, after the year they've been together- are in the kitchen eating dessert when Draco and Harry come tumbling in, hand in hand. They all freeze, cake halfway to Seamus’ mouth and Draco and Harry's cheeks burning red.

“You can't tell anyone,” Draco immeadiately blurts. “With Voldemort still alive, Harry would be in danger if he tried to use me against him.”

Astoria gives a very unladylike snort. “Don't worry, Potter,” she says. “I haven't told anyone about Draco’s crush on you for the past two years or you two secretly dating for the past year, no matter how much he tempted me.”

Potter's gaze fixes on hers, and- “Ginny?” He squeaks. “Dean? Seamus? Terry?”

Astoria’s lovely _you-should-have-been-in-Slytherin_ girlfriend smirks and holds out the biscuit tin. “Have a biscuit, Harry," Ginny says. "You too, Malfoy. We have a lot to talk about.”

-

Draco, somehow, becomes Dean's friend. This, probably, is the most unexpected thing to come out of sixth year.

Draco has deep debates with Dean over every topic under the sun, offers to tutor him in Quidditch (but at night, so that neither of them would get singled out for being friends), and telling him the oldest, most obscure wizarding legends.

Dean responds by debating Draco fiercely but with a smile, teaching him the ins and outs of football, and sharing old muggle jokes with him.

(The two of them get along far better than anyone could have expected.)

Astoria turns to Potter and Ginny one day as Dean and Draco are debating something, Dean’s hand (with a biscuit clasped in it, no less) waving wildly to punctuate his point and Draco seemingly impassive but a small smile uplifting his lips. “This is kind of insane,” she says.

Ginny nods, surprise obvious on her face. “I mean, I knew Draco had changed, but I didn’t realize that it had been _this_ much.”

Astoria takes another look at Draco and sees the way he's using the same mannerisms and language he does when he's debating another Heir. "You know what," she says, "I don't think he really has changed that much."

She looks back at the two Gryffindors and finds Potter looking at Draco as well, a slightly bewildered smile on his face. "I think you're right."

-

Astoria and Ginny duck out of a Slug Club party, intent on having a quick snog in the hallway. She catches Draco and Harry snogging in the hallway during a Slug Club party, and snorts.

“My lady-like girlfriend,” Ginny says with a smug smile.

“You love it,” Astoria teases, limbs light and happiness bubbling in her chest.

Ginny shrugs. “Yeah, I do.”

-

It’s late May when they finally manage to convince Potter to tell them what’s going on whenever he has an appointment with Dumbledore.

“You have to tell us what's going on,” Astoria orders. “We can help you.”

“It's top secret,” Potter starts, “If it gets out to Voldemort what we're doing, all will be lost-"

“In the nicest possible way,” Draco interrupts, putting a hand on Harry's. “Bullshit, love. We can all help you get this done a lot sooner and a lot more safely if you just tell us.”

“Then let me get Ron and Hermione,” Harry says, “They've got to hear this too.”

Dean nods. “Okay.”

 

A few minutes later, the kitchen is a bit more packed than normal. There's the normal gang- Terry, Dean, Astoria, Hannah, Ginny, and Seamus- plus the the relative newbies- Draco, Potter- plus the strangers- Granger, Weasley. Granger and Weasley stare at Astoria and Draco like they're novelties. Even as Harry starts to explain, they continue to stare, until Astoria gets kind of fed up and bursts out: “Granger. Weasley.” They glance at her, startled. “Yes, we’re Slytherins. Yes, we’re friends with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Stop staring at us like we’re fascinating bugs.”

Granger’s cheeks go Gryffindor red but Weasley’s gaze falls to her hand on the table, where- _shit_ \- her fingers are intertwined with Ginny’s. Weasley’s cheeks go as red as a Gryffindor’s bedspread. “Ginny?” he asks. “You’re dating a _Slytherin_?”

Ginny nods. “Yeah. You got a problem with it?”

Weasley hurries to shake his head _no_ , but Potter has already started to explain the situation regarding Horcruxes to everyone.

“Wait ‘til they find out about Harry and Draco,” Ginny mutters into Astoria’s ear, and despite the gravity of the situation she giggles.

-

Astoria and Ginny get caught up in a battle at the end of the school year. Death Eaters and evil werewolves- not Professor Lupin, who was pretty awesome, but others- attack, and they help defend Hogwarts from the invaders.

 

Astoria and Ginny catch Potter after the battle, when he’s clearly going out of his mind with worry. As they try to calm him down, he tells them about the events that occurred during the battle:

_Snape kills Dumbledore and Potter witnesses it. Then Draco disappears, and the battle commences, and Potter can't find Draco when the battle is over._

"He's missing, and I can't find him, and-"

 

-

Draco spends the first few days of Astoria’s fifth year worrying out of his mind.

She eventually snaps the first Friday of the year.

“Slap yourself out of this, Draco,” Astoria says. “You think you can help Potter at all like this? You’re Slytherin’s Ice Prince- use that.”

He nods, face returning to its normal impassive, almost haughty expression. “Of course.”

 

Draco’s aunt comes and pulls him out of school in early November, leaving Astoria and Millicent as the only Slytherin spies.

Astoria worries about him, sometimes, but more often her nightmares are of Dean on the run, of Ginny, Seamus, Terry, and Hannah being Crucio’ed by the Carrows.

 

Ginny escapes, not returning after the break. Luna Lovegood isn’t as lucky, as she is snatched off of the train when they return.

  


Astoria sleeps in Slytherin dorms throughout the week, a dozen wards spelled around her bed. Weekends she spends in the Room of Requirement with what remains of Dumbledore’s Army and all the muggleborns and half bloods that could survive the Carrows' purge. She helps deliver supplies Hannah, who distributes resources to every one who can't leave the Room.

She tries to be someone both she and Ginny and all of her friends could be proud of. She thinks she's doing it.  


 

“ _Crucio_ him,” Amycus Carrow orders Astoria, pointing at Seamus Finnegan.

She can’t. He’s one of the only ones left. She’s watched as, for months, he’s had to endure curse after curse from the Carrows. She won’t do this to him.

She can’t.

“ _Crucio-”_

 

She escapes into the Room of Requirement that night. Seamus, Hannah, and Terry wrap her in a hug. There are so many of them gone- Dean, captured, Draco, taken by his Aunt, Harry, off questing with Ron and Hermione- that taking comfort in the ones who remain is all they can do.

“Nice to have you with us,” Neville says. His posture, his tone- it’s that of a leader. He’s become the lone general left since Luna and Ginny didn’t return. Leadership sits well on his shoulders in a way that praise never did.

“Now you have only one spy,” she says, ever practical.

He shrugs. “Millicent’s good- we’ll make do. We always do.”

She nods. “Okay. Then what can I do to help?”

He grins. “Glad you asked.”

-

Potter, Weasley, Granger, and Draco tumble in through the painting. Astoria does _not_ cry, but as Luna, Ginny, and Dean stumble out after them a tear might have fallen down her cheek.

Dean immediately goes to Seamus, wrapping him a hug before making out in front of the crowd. Astoria can't help but smile at the heartwarming display.

Ginny practically runs across the room to scoop Astoria into her arms. “I missed you,” she says, and Astoria swallows hard, trying not to cry. She has spent the last year being as hard as possible, only allowing iron in her spine and fire in her heart. Seeing Ginny, so bright, so beautiful, is a bit of a shock.

"You too," she says, "But we have a war to fight."

Ginny laughs, and her laughter is a prettier sound than any choir. "Love you, 'Storia."

This is the first time either of them has said this, but it doesn't feel strange. In this heightened, war-torn world, such an important declaration fits in all too well.

"I love you too, Ginny Weasley."

Ginny’s grin, marred by dirt, is blinding.

  


They fight, and fight, and fight, and then-

And  _then._

 

Harry Potter’s body is in Hagrid’s arms and all Astoria can hear is Draco screaming, all she can see are him standing next to Dean, fingers clenched into fists. Seamus puts a hand on Dean’s shoulder as Draco’s face twists into absolute hatred.

 

In the end, Astoria ends up fighting by the sides of all of her friends. She finds herself by the sides of Dean, Hannah, Seamus, Ginny, Draco, Granger, Millicent, Weasley, and Luna throughout the battle. Green by blue by yellow by red, spells flashing in tandem.

She takes down Dolohov as she runs toward the Great Hall. No longer will she let her parents’ friends overrun her life. She is a student of Hogwarts, a friend of muggleborns and a girlfriend of blood-traitors, a girl of two lives and many strengths.

Her headband and tie are green, but her spells are red.

 

In the end, the master of the Elder Wand is neither Harry nor Snape. It’s _Draco Malfoy,_ who everyone turns to look at as Harry Potter makes the proclamation. Draco seems just as shocked as the rest of the world, his hand gripping Granger’s arm.

 

The wand backfires. Voldemort cannot use it properly, and Harry's wand- Draco’s old wand, lent to him when his cracked- defeats him. Astoria doesn’t miss the significance of this fact, and she knows that the Ministry certainly won’t: a Malfoy and a Potter, the scion of two great pureblood families and the Boy Who Lived combining their powers.

She practically feels the Ministry trembling, and she smiles grimly.

 

Voldemort is dead, and the first person to break free from shock is Draco Malfoy. He runs out into the center of the Great Hall, grabs Harry’s hands, and (with a complete disregard to the host of wands that are being raised at the presumed Death Eater) pulls him into a hug. Harry’s head drops down onto Draco’s shoulder as his hands raise to clutch at Draco’s back, Voldemort’s wand prominent in one of them.

Astoria turns to look for Ginny, who she knows was just fighting Bellatrix a moment ago, before the whole explosion of Harry and Voldemort’s confrontation. She finds her with Luna, Dean, Seamus, and Neville. Hannah and Terry are right near Astoria, and she grabs each of their hands in hers and takes off running to their other friends. As she arrives, so does Millicent, who is wrapped in a hug by Luna and Neville.

“You were amazing, 'Storia,” Dean says with a grin.

“Aye,” Seamus agrees, “Saw you take down Dolohov. Shite, you're good.”

Ginny is grinning. “Dolohov?”

Astoria raises an eyebrow. “Bellatrix Lestrange.”

Ginny shrugs. “Touche.”

A sudden uproar bursts from the crowd, shattering the quiet rumble that had been building, and Astoria turns to find Harry pressing a gentle kiss to Draco’s lips, his fingers cradling Draco’s cheek like it is the most precious thing in the universe.

They speak for a few moments, too quietly for anyone in the Great Hall to hear, and then, as Astoria watches, there’s a flash of light and the Draco takes the Elder Wand and snaps it in two.

-

Draco and Harry disappear a few days after the final battle. Astoria doesn't blame them, and neither does anyone else in their friend group.

-

The first wedding of the bunch is, surprisingly, Hannah and Neville. Then Dean and Seamus, then Ron and Hermione, then Ginny and Astoria, then finally Draco and Harry.

Ginny ends up an Auror. Neville, Dean, Seamus, and Harry end up as teachers. Hannah owns the Leaky Cauldron. Granger and Millicent become Ministry employees, Granger advancing the ranks to Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and Millicent working in the Department of Unspeakables. Weasley co-owns Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes. Lovegood disappears to South America and returns with a preemptive guide to magical zoology and a Hufflepuff husband. Draco becomes a master potioneer, partnering with St. Mungo’s and the Aurors. Terry becomes a Charms Master and manages to somehow get an apprenticeship with Ollivander himself.

And Astoria? She ends up partnering with Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived himself, to pioneer a program to rescue muggle children, both those exhibiting magic and not, who are being abused, and ferrying them to the magical world where they can be adopted by vetted families.

There are many ambitions in the world, many forms of power. Not all are political. Sometimes power comes from creating safety from danger, giving sanctuary to those who would otherwise have none.

  


Astoria and Ginny adopt a set of seven-year-old twins who come through the program. Zoe, a little witch girl, and Clay, a muggle boy, they were rescued from their mother, a religious fanatic who saw them as children of the devil. They arrive at the Weasley-Greengrass home wary and bruised, and Astoria and Ginny accept them with open arms.

Astoria tells them the fairytale of a princess and her friends going on a quest to defeat the big bad Dark Lord. The friend group is diverse, with girls and guys, wizards and muggles, blacks and whites, pureblood and not.

There are much better stories than to tell her children than ones like Macbeth, tales of ambition and murder. Macbeth’s rise to power too closely mimics Voldemort’s. She wants her children to respect others, to realize how power doesn’t need to come from magic or oppression of others.

When Clay laughs and chases the sparkling stars down the hallway instead of hiding from them, when Zoe grins openly at a joke instead of flinching away, Astoria feels like something is working.


	2. the fear of falling apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Harry's side of the story, mostly in 7th year. 
> 
> (Most of this has been drafted for nearly a year. Have fun.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is from "This Is The Gospel" by Panic! at the Disco.

This is first time they've seen each other in over six months. The last time Draco saw Harry was the morning of that hellish night. They’d slept in the Astronomy tower, and woken up expecting a day like any other.

The last time Harry saw Draco was on the top of the Astronomy tower, that night, as Draco disarmed Dumbledore and Snape killed him. The last sight Harry had of his boyfriend was his back as he ran after Snape, guilt and fear marring his face.

Now- Draco’s face is paler than normal, his features drawn and everything about him _thinner_ than normal. Harry wants nothing more than to wrap him in a hug, but he can’t. Lives hinge on him not showing any affection or even recognition of Draco Malfoy.

(Harry knows that he’s had Ron and Hermione for this school year, and before that he had the Order and the Weasleys during the summer. Draco has had nobody save his mother and maybe Snape since the battle last May.)

“Is this Harry Potter?” Bellatrix asks, dragging Harry and his Stung face in front of Draco.

Draco stares at Harry and Harry tries to remember to breathe.

“I don’t know,” Draco says, the most imperceptible of trembles to his voice. “I can’t be sure.”

Bellatrix starts throwing orders around, demanding responses to her whims. “Throw ‘em in the dungeon,” Bellatrix snarls. “I’ll start with this one here, the mudblood girl.”

-

“C'mon,” Draco whispers as he spells open the door to the dungeon, “We've gotta get out. Dobby, get Dean, Lovegood, and Ollivander. Weasley, Harry- let's go save Granger.”

Ron is instantly ready to go, but Harry puts a hand on Draco’s arm and Draco stops. “Yes, Har-?” He asks, but gets cut off as Harry pulls him into a hug.

“Thank God you're alive, love,” Harry whispers into Draco’s hair.

Draco nods. “I was so worried about you,” he replies, nearly straining with the effort not to cry after so long apart.

“I know you guys need this,” Ron interrupts, “I really do, but Hermione’s in danger and we've gotta go help her!”

“Right,” Harry says, breaking away from Draco’s arms.

 

They have to make this escape seamless, and they nearly do it.

(Draco hates the look on Harry's face when his house elf dies.)

 

When Draco enters Shell Cottage, he ends up with two wands pointed directly at his face.

“Death Eater,” Bill Weasley growls, “Give me one reason why I shouldn't just hex your face off right now.”

“Bill!” Harry shouts, and rushed to step slightly in front of Draco, who is making no attempt to defend himself. “Draco’s on our side. He’s fighting for us.”

“‘Ow can you be sure?” Fleur asks, suspicious. “‘E is a pureblood bigot.”

“He's my boyfriend,” Harry says, tone a bit hard. Draco sees the hard set to his jaw and knows that things must have happened in the past six months to harden Harry like that. “And he has been since the second half of fifth year. You can trust him.”

The two Weasleys slowly lower their wands.

“You two are far smarter than my father,” Draco drawls even as relief blooms in his chest.

Weasley and Granger step into the cottage, and as they do so Draco notices Luna and Dean in the back of the kitchen, sitting at the table.

“Bill!” Weasley shouts, but does not run to his big brother. Instead, he helps Granger into the cottage. Granger is leaning heavily on Ron, blood dripping slowly from her arm, and Harry rushes over to help them.

Draco swallows. _His_ family did this to her.

He doesn’t know Granger that well except as Harry’s best friend. He was able to talk to her a bit last school year, to get to know her a bit when plotting how to take care of the Horcruxes, but he never got to get to know her very well. Their relationship was built on shaky grounds, on years of verbal abuse and bullying from him.

He shifts in his shoes as Harry runs to help Granger. He doesn’t feel comfortable crowding her, trying to comfort her. It isn't his place to try and help her. The past months Harry and Ron have been at her side, helping her, while Draco has spent the last few months helping-

Draco freezes. Dean and Luna.

He has gotten to know Dean and Luna better over the past couple of months. Dean he knew a bit about before, from nights in the kitchen, but Luna was an unknown anomaly. He knows a little of how she went as Harry's date to the Slug Club when Draco couldn't, of how she helped storm the Ministry, but he didn't know specifics on her until this year.

And as Dean and Luna step into the house, relief swells up in Draco’s chest.

 

_(“Tell me what's happening with Seamus,” Dean is saying when Draco enters the dungeon. “And Astoria, and Hannah, and Terry-”_

_“Seamus is a spy,” Luna says, “For Ginny and Neville and I.”_

_“He runs supply missions for those stuck in the Room of Requirement,” Draco says, and Dean flinches as he glances up at him. Draco's heart aches at the fear in Dean's eyes. Draco lofts a dish of food. “I brought you food.” He hands it over. “Bellatrix grabbed me at the same time they grabbed Luna. But Astoria was okay the last time I saw her, still working as a spy for the DA, while Hannah was in charge of organizing supplies and Terry was her assistant. They’re a little worse for the wear, but they’re safe.”_

_Dean’s face crumples as Luna peels off a few pieces of bread from the plate. “Oh, thank Merlin,” he says as Luna hands a piece of bread each to Ollivander and the goblin. “If Seamus- if_ any _of them got hurt-” Tears carve their way through the dirt smeared on his cheek._

_Draco swallows.”I’d hug you, Dean, but if I return upstairs with dirt smeared on my shirt they might realize that I’m helping you and they won’t let me down here.”_

_Dean’s sharp gaze looks him up and down, and Draco remembers why the Astoria used to joke that if Hannah was the group’s mom, then Dean was the dad. “You’re trapped here just as much as we are,” Dean says, and Draco shakes his head._

_“I have access to a lot more than you do. I have a lot more freedom and room to move around. I’m sorry that you have to go through so much worse than anything I’ve ever experienced.”_

_“It’s just different,” Dean says, “One’s not worse than the other.”_

_Luna places a hand on his elbow. “Draco,” she says, voice as soft as always, “The nargles are getting to you.”)_

 

Some bond formed between the three of them as they were trapped in Malfoy Manor, a bond that will be hard to break.

Draco breaks away from his shock in order to wrap each one of them in a quick hug. He can hear the shocked gasps of (probably) Weasleys behind him, but he doesn't care. Dean Thomas, Luna Lovegood, and he survived being trapped in a house with the Dark Lord for months, and they're alive now.

They’re out. They _survived_.

 

_(“I promise I'll help get you back to Seamus, Thomas,” Draco whispers desperately as he deposits a dish of stolen food at Dean, Ollivander, and Luna’s feet. “And Luna, I'll get you back to Millicent and Neville.”_

_Luna nods. “The Nargles are gone from your head, Draco,” she says._

_Draco, who is desperate and afraid and full of worry over what's happening to the boyfriend he hasn't seen in months, smiles grimly. “No, they're not, Luna,” he says, “I just don't have time for their distractions.”_

_Dean smiles. “I believe in you, Draco Malfoy,” he says, and grips Draco's hand in his own. “You can get us out of here.”)_

 

He feels Dean and Luna each wrapping an arm around him and each other. “We got out,” Dean says, voice breaking. “We escaped.”

\---

Harry needs to time to process with Draco, to make up for six months apart, but there is nowhere and no time to do it. Between figuring out the Deathly Hallows and preparing to infiltrate Gringotts, there are barely any free moments to talk.

The first moment they actually get alone is that night, when they fall into bed and try to get some sort of rest before attempting to break into the best secured building in all of Wizarding Britain.

 

_(Draco never asks for news of Harry. He knows he won't get any. Dean was too busy trying to survive, to save his own life, to worry about what Harry Potter was doing._

_Draco misses Harry, and he prays for him, but above all, he's scared for him.)_

 

“Draco,” Harry says as they lay in bed, and his voice is nothing above the most hushed of whispers.

Draco’s hands are shaking as they cradle Harry's cheeks. His fingers trace Harry's cheeks, feeling the features and skin that he hasn't been able to touch in months. Harry is paler, his face thinner, and Draco’s heart squeezes at the thought that he didn't get to witness what happened to make Harry this way. (More importantly, he hadn't been able to help Harry through it.)

Harry leans in and presses chapped lips to Draco's cheek.

“When this is all over,” he says, and the words splinter the fragile silence between them. “I want to run away.”

“Sounds good to me,” Draco says.

He doesn’t want to stay. He’s never wanted to stay- the only thing keeping him here has been Harry.

 

( _All throughout Bill's wedding two thoughts had cycled their way through Harry's mind:_ someday I want to do this with Draco _, and_ oh Merlin, I hope he's okay _.)_

 

They make plans for breaking into Gringotts, and certain revelations are made along the way.

“Polyjuice potion?” Draco asks, “Like the stuff you used to trick me second year?”

Hermione and Ron exchange a look and Harry just laughs, entwining his fingers with Draco's.

(And they have enough to worry about without stressing about problems from long ago, before a war took over their lives. They have a dictator to fight. Schoolhood troubles are something too far distant from their current lives.)

 

_(Saying that Malfoy Manor was the first time Harry saw Draco in months would not be entirely true._

_He sees Draco through Voldemort’s eyes, once. He casts the Cruciatus curse on his boyfriend, watches Draco hold himself together for an entire minute before a scream bursts past his lips. He feels sick, twisted pleasure as he tortures his boyfriend._

_Harry wakes up, screaming into his pillow, bile choking his throat. Ron and Hermione both rush to his side._

_“Draco,” he gasps, a couple of tears escaping his eyes, “He's torturing Draco. Merlin, what if he dies before I can save him?”_

_Hermione pulls him close and hugs him, letting Harry bury his face in her hair, and Ron pats him on the back._

_“We're going to find those Horcruxes,” Ron swears, “We're going to win this war, and we're going to save Malfoy. I promise you, Harry.”_

_Harry nods, trying to slow down his breathing.)_

 

They end up escaping Gringotts on the back of a fucking dragon, a Polyjuice disguise sloughing off of Ron like extra scale after a dragon's molting. They then end up having to jump off of the dragon, tumbling into the ice-cold lake below. They climb out of the water and find themselves sopping wet, freezing water seeping into their bones.

Draco pulls his wand out of his words. “ _Tergeo,_ ” he casts, waving his wand above his and Harry's clothing. Draco's button-down, Harry's t-shirt, and their jeans are soon dry.

“Good,” Hermione says, coming up behind then with a damp Ron by her side, “You guys have the clothes dealt with. We need to get into the castle.”

\---

The battle happens in flashes.

-

“We'll split up,” Harry says. “Ron, Hermione- you guys go get the fangs. Draco and I will get the diadem.”

“Got it,” Harry's best friends chorus, and the four of them split.

-

Draco catches a Death Eater- Yaxley, if he’s not mistaken- aiming his wand at one of the Weasley twins and fires off a _stupefy_ at him. It knocks the Death Eater’s _avada kedavra_ off course just enough to hit the stone right by the Weasley twin’s ear.

Draco grabs the Weasley’s hand and helps him up. The Weasley is staring at him a bit oddly, Draco showing up tonight at the Golden Trio’s side earlier probably warring with years of Draco being a prick.

“You just saved my life,” the Weasley says, that same confusion reflected in his voice.

Draco smirks. “Get used to it, Weasley- I'm on your side.” He thinks about it, and, well, caution to the wind. This is the final battle. He won't let Harry die alone, and if Voldemort acts as he always has planned to, then… If Draco makes it out of this alive, it'll have to be as a victor. He points down the corridor to Harry, who is helping Perfect Prefect Weasley defend the other Weasley twin, who is throwing... _stink bombs?_ Really? “See the gorgeous brunette down there?”

Weasley raises an eyebrow. “Where?”

Draco sighs. “Harry. Harry Potter. He's my boyfriend.”

For the first time since Draco can remember, a Weasley twin looks surprised. “Bloody hell, really?”

Draco rolls his eyes and nods. “But it’s not important right now. We’ve got a battle to win.”

The Weasley twin nods grimly. “Got that right.”

“You take the right, I'll take the left?”

“Got it,” Draco agrees, raising his wand.

And then the battle resumes.

-

When Voldemort demands Harry's life, Draco forbids Harry from turning himself over.

“You _can't_ do this,” Draco says, clutching Harry's hands between them.

Harry swallows. “Okay, I won't.”

-

Draco should have known that the bastard was lying. Harry's always been too much of a stubborn Gryffindor, too much of a _hero_ , to do anything but sacrifice himself.

-

When Harry's death is announced, Draco nearly collapses. They were both supposed to get through this together. They were supposed to have a happy ending after the fuckfest that was their lives.

Draco tears into Death Eaters, the memory of Harry's smile and his dead face powering spells more intense than any he’s ever accomplished before. He will _not_ let Harry die in vain.

(There has to be a point to the death of the best man Draco has ever known and the only boy he has ever loved.)

He ends up fighting his own Aunt and Uncle, Thomas, Granger, and Luna fighting at his side.

“PROTEGO!” comes a shout from nowhere, and before Draco’s eyes a shield flows out over Kingsley, McGonagall, and Flitwick. It just doesn't stop there- no, it expands to cover every Defender of Hogwarts in the room.

And then, _then_ , the air in front of Voldemort shimmers and then Harry is there, casting off the Invisibility Cloak.

Draco has to grab the hand of the person next to him- Granger, it ends up being- in order not to collapse. She seems to be of the same mind of him, clutching onto his hand just as tightly.

Most of the ensuing conversation is old hat- stuff that Harry, Granger, and Weasley covered when they all were at Shell Cottage- and Draco spends the standoff trying to keep his heart from racing out of his chest, but then Harry drops the bombshell.

“Draco Malfoy is the Master of the Elder Wand,” Harry says, and the breath leaves Draco’s lungs as everyone turns to look at him. Granger’s grip around his hand tightens.

“Lies,” Voldemort spits, and Draco would have to agree. “ _I_ killed Severus, who defeated Dumbledore. _I_ am the Master of the Elder Wand.”

“Draco was the one to disarm Dumbledore last year,” Harry continues. “Snape may have killed Dumbledore, but Draco got there first.” Harry's voice is somehow almost _proud_ when he says, “ _Draco_ holds mastery over that wand, and if I'm right, then it won't respond to you in this fight as well as my wand responds to me. ‘Cause, you see, this wand-" And he brandishes the wand Draco handed to him before this battle, the one that Draco insisted he use because Draco had a backup and Harry didn't- “Belongs to Draco Malfoy. And your wand _will_ fail.”

Voldemort raises his wand, fury raging over his face. “ _Avada Kedavra_ !” cracks across the Great Hall, just as Harry shouts, “ _Expelliarmus!”_

And Voldemort-impossibly, unimaginably- loses.

 

When Voldemort hits the floor, Draco abandons any decorum that’s been trained into him. He stumbles forward, heedless of the wands pointed at him, and breaks into a run. He doesn’t care that wizards far more powerful and well-trained than him are seconds away from killing him- he just _has_ to get to Harry, who looks like he is about to fall over and is frozen in shock and is bloody _alive_.

He grabs Harry’s hands in his, pausing for just one moment to stare his _living_ boyfriend in the eyes, before pulling him forward and into a hug. He squeezes his eyes shut, blocking out the rest of the world except for the feeling of his boyfriend’s body pressed against his.

“You’re alive,” he chokes out.

“You aren’t getting rid of me that quickly,” Harry says.

“You bastard,” Draco mutters, chuckling mirthlessly. He’s seconds away from a nervous breakdown, as having his boyfriend's not-actual-death revealed to him mere seconds after taking out his own father is a lot for Draco to take in.

“I am never fucking leaving you ever again,” Draco swears, “ You are _not_ dying on me, not anytime soon.”

Harry pulls him into a gentle kiss. “I can live with that.”

A sudden increase in sound shatters the quiet emotional moment. Draco glances around and sees that the entire room has erupted into noise.

Draco swallows. He doesn't want to think about them, about the way they just outed themselves to the entire British Wizarding World.

So instead he turns back to the other great revelation Harry just exposed: the owner of the Elder Wand.

“So, Master of the Elder Wand?” He asks, and Harry nods.

He stares at the wand, at the power it holds. Years of ambition swell up in him. He was chosen for Slytherin for a reason. Cunning, ambition, loyalty- these are all things he holds in great quantities. The craving for power is one he carries deep in his bones, braced in his soul.

Not every Slytherin lusts for the power that can be held within a wand. Harry, Seamus, Cho, Ron, and Ginny were all offered Slytherin, and none of them would choose the power within the wand. Millicent, Draco, and Astoria were all offered Slytherin, and just because they _chose_ Slytherin does not mean they would either. There is power in a number of things: love, friendship, words. A scar, a stone, a cloak.

Choices give you power. Draco just has to decide what kind of power he wants.

“Hand me your wand,” Draco says, and Harry raises an eyebrow but goes to hand over the blackthorn wand. Draco shakes his head. “The phoenix feather wand.”

Harry’s eyebrow raises even higher, but he digs into his pocket and pulls it out.

“ _Reparo,”_ Draco says, pointing the Elder Wand at Harry’s, and golden light spools around Harry’s wand. A moment later, the Phoenix feather wand is whole and new and Draco snaps the Elder Wand between his fingers. The crowd bursts into a roaring cacophony of sound, but Draco can only focus on Harry and the way he is staring at Draco, eyes wide and smile proud.

“I don't want it,” Draco says. “And no one else should have it either. It’s too much power for one man.”

 

_(Harry sifts his way through Snape’s memories and, despite Dumbledore’s words, doesn't think that this is love. He thinks of what he has with Draco, of how their relationship was founded on apology and forgiveness, of trust and the abolishment of as much bigotry as could be found._

_What Snape felt toward Harry's mother was not love- it was obsession, and guilt. There were no late nights spent in the Astronomy tower having frank discussions and apologies, no makeout sessions interrupted by giggles and scrambling for snacks, no protecting each other in the brunt of battle._

_When he heads out to the forest, it is not Snape that he thinks of. It is Remus and Sirius, his mother and father, him and Draco._

_It is_ actual _love, not misplaced obsession._

 

_Harry turns the Resurrection Stone and his parents, Remus, and Sirius show up._

_“Do you think Draco will ever forgive me?” Harry asks them, and Remus and Sirius glance at each other._

_“Eventually, he will,” Remus says, “Because he'll realize that there was no other choice, and that you died defending the world and the people you both loved. He probably won't ever get over it, but he'll understand.”_

_Harry swallows. That's probably the best he'll ever get.)_

 

The Apparition wards are down just far enough for Harry to squeeze his way through the cracks, taking Draco with him. The battle is over- they're not needed. The Boy Who Lived and the Malfoy Heir have no role in the aftermath. They have done their part, sacrificed so much, and now-

Now they run.

This is not cowardice. They owe nothing to the Wizarding World, only to themselves.

\---

“I love you, Harry,” Draco says, holding onto a pole in the London Underground. His wand is tucked into his new muggle boots. He left his robes in the Wizarding World along with the rest of his gear, only taking what he was carrying. He feels much lighter now, free of responsibilities and regrets.

“You too, Draco,” Harry says, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Draco’s lips as the train takes off.


	3. let your mother know you're safe (psuedo-epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title is from "Sleep On The Floor" by the Lumineers.
> 
> In which my Viktor/George rarepair keeps ending up in the background of every Harry Potter fic I write.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, half of this chapter has been drafted since I posted the first chapter in this fic, but I'm shit at updating. So here it is now.

Draco and Harry don't go back to Hogwarts after the battle. They’ve spent the last six months living in Muggle London, staying at Grimmauld Place, and being as normal as possible. There’s been very little paparazzi to deal with in a world that doesn’t know either of their faces.

In London, Draco has a part-time job at a used book store. Harry works at small coffee shop owned by the family that lives at the end of Grimmauld Place. They don't really need the money, but it's nice to have something to do, an activity to keep their hands at work and their minds from dwelling on things they cannot change.

Tonight, though, it’s Christmas, and that means that it’s time to visit the Weasleys. Draco and Harry haven’t seen any of them save Ron and Ginny since the battle, and that’s mostly just because Astoria bullied Draco into the Ginny thing and, well, Harry would never give up entirely on seeing his friends, no matter how much of a break he needs from everything.

(They have had few friends over to the house, mostly limied to Ron, Hermione, the Kitchen Gang, and Luna Lovegood. Draco doesn't begrudge Harry his time with Ron and Hermione, their sometimes loud, drunken nights by the fireplace trying to forget the war, just as Harry understands when Dean and Luna come over and he'll come home from work to find batches upon batches of biscuits lining the counters from Dean, Luna, and Draco's baking attempts. Some things don't have to be explained, and the Bad Days often end with the two of them curled up on the couch together, a bottle of firewhiskey and a bowl of slightly burnt biscuits shared between them.)

“Are you sure I’m okay to come?” Draco asks. “I mean, I get Astoria, because she’s Ginny’s girlfriend and all, but me, I’m no one but the son of the man who’s tormented them for years. _I’m_ someone who’s tormented them and their friends for years. How could they possibly want-?”

“You saved Fred’s life, Draco. You helped us save the world from Voldemort in the Battle. You gave up the Elder Wand. Just ‘cause you were a prick as a kid doesn’t mean you should be treated like one for the rest of your life.” Harry grins. “And ‘sides, you’re my boyfriend, and I’m kind of an honorary Weasley by this point.”

Draco gives him a small smile and reaches up to caress his cheek. “Sorry, but no ginger hair, no Weasleyhood.”

“That's why I'll only ever be honorary. I can't exactly pull off the ginger look, can I?”

“No,” Draco says with a smirk, “You really can't. You aren’t _nearly_ pale enough.”

"Guess I'll just have to suffer, then," Harry says, and offers his hand to Draco. "Time to go, though, Mr. Malfoy."

"After you, Mr. Potter." Then Draco takes Harry’s hand and they apparate to the front step of the Burrow.

“Nice to see you, Draco,” Molly says, smiling from the front doorstep.

“Nice to see you as well, Mrs. Weasley,” Draco says, offering out a hand to Mrs. Weasley. She bypasses it in order to wrap Draco in a hug. He blushes, cheeks going almost as red as that famous Weasley hair.

“Draco, you’re part of the family now. No need to shake hands.”

Ron appears at the door. “Draco, Harry, mates,” he says, “You’ve got to get inside. Mum’s got dinner nearly ready, and you guys have to help us set the table.” Draco blinks, a bit surprised by Ron’s enthusiasm, but he follows the Gryffindor in through the entryway as Ron continues to talk. “Just chuck your robe over there,” Ron says, gesturing to a floating coatrack. Harry smiles as he watched Draco dutifully follow Ron's instructions. A few years ago, he never would have seen anything like it. "Now, follow me through to the kitchen. We've got dishes to get onto the table."

-

Things get a little tense at dinner that night as the other members of the Order arrive. Hestia Jones, arriving together with Dedalus Diggle, stops nearly dead on the spot when they see Astoria, and more importantly, Draco helping out in the kitchen.

“Um, Molly?” Hestia asks, and the Weasley matriarch looks at him. “Is that two Slytherins I see in the kitchen?”

Molly's eyes narrow. “Astoria Greengrass is my daughter's girlfriend, and has been for two years. Draco Malfoy saved my son’s life, and he’s dating Harry. I don’t see why he shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh, I knew they were dating- no one who saw them kiss would suspect otherwise,” Hestia says, blushing. “Just...oh, I don’t know. I’m sorry. I should know better than to judge based on house.”

“It's just fine,” Molly says, “I'm still getting used to it myself. But I'm just continuing to try and be fair, and to judge people by their character, and I hope that will be alright.”

Dedalus grins. “Sounds good to me, Hest.”

Hestia nods. “Me as well.”

“Well, enjoy yourselves,” Molly says, smile warm.

-

Later that night, the kids- now adults, most of them- find themselves collapsed in the living room. It's kind of packed, with everyone squished in there together, but everyone finds a place to sit. Astoria and Ginny are curled around each other in an armchair, while Draco, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are comfortably smushed together on the sofa. Fred, George, Lee, and _Viktor Krum_ of all people (apparently George had been secretly dating him during the Triwizard Tournament, and now that the war was over they were trying it out again) are playing a game of exploding snap in the corner. Charlie's happy perched on a cushion on the floor, a small lizard crawling around on his lap, while Percy is sitting a small table smushed next to the wall, writing a letter to someone or other. Bill and Fleur, the proper adults of the group, are seated on the loveseat, where Fleur’s stomach is visibly pronounced. In the background Celestina Warbeck is playing, but the warbling music is nearly drowned out by the chaos of noise in the room.

“Looks like we all turned out alright,” Harry says, running his fingers through Draco's hair.

“I'd have to say we did,” Draco says.

“Draco,” Hermione says, and he turns to her. She is smiling, book open across her and Ron's laps. Draco glances at the title sprawled across the tops of the pages and finds it to be a book about the psychology of Quidditch. “You ready to be a Weasley?”

Ron, Astoria, and Ginny are all looking at him when he smirks and says, “Oh, I don't think it will be the _worst_ fate in the world.”

A pillow hits him square in the face and he can hear his boyfriend laughing even as Draco extracts his arm from Harry's in order to pull the pillow off his face.

The culprit looks to be the Weasley he saved during the Battle, the one with an ear still attached. “Oi, Malfoy,” he drawls, “I’d rather be a Weasley than a ponce like you.”

“The feeling’s mutual, don’t worry," Draco says, but his smile belies his words.

"How about a Potter?" Harry whispers into Draco's ear as the Weasley turns back to talking with his friends, and Draco blinks.

"Are you asking what I think you're asking?" Draco asks quietly, turning to look Harry right in the eye, and finds Harry smiling at him fondly.

"Well, I'll ask it again when there are less people watching, but yeah," Harry says, "We work pretty well together, don't you think? We've made this work since halfway through fifth year and kept it working through war. We live together and I'd like to continue what we've got. So what do you say?"

"I think you're ridiculous, Potter," Draco says, nothing but fondness in his tone. "But I'd love to."

Harry grins and presses a kiss to Draco's temple.

"Get a room, mates," one of the twins complains, and Ron rolls his eyes.

"I could say the same thing about you and Viktor, Georgie," Ron says, and George's jaw drops into a mock-gasp.

"I'm  _offended_ , little Ronniekins, that you would ever accuse dear Viktor and I of such indecent activites," George says, slinging an arm around his famous Quidditch player of a boyfriend's shoulders.

"Says the guy who I caught defiling the back storage room at the shop," The other twin- who must be Fred- points out.

By this point, Harry has buried his face into Draco's shoulder and is laughing uncontrollably, and Draco's heart is feeling so incredibly light. Is this what it's like to have family, to be easily included and accepted, to be able to have people be so comfortable around each other without worrying about reputations? Though it's definitely a bit noisier than he likes, he can't deny that he enjoys it.

And when Harry asks that question again later and Draco says yes, then he'll officially become part of this family. And he's pretty sure losing a bit of his peace and quiet is worth this happiness and acceptance.

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a Part Two to this series exploring Harry and Draco's relationship.


End file.
